Oxford Reunion
by StarbuckJayne
Summary: A university reunion takes an unexpected twist


Oxford Reunion  
  
By Starbuck_Jayne and Chessity  
  
Starbuck_Jayne@mulderandscully.co.uk  
  
Rating: PG13 (Violence but not much)   
  
Spoilers: None  
  
Keywords: MSR, KidFic  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters in this   
story belong to us we are just borrowing   
them for a while. They belong to Chris   
Carter, 1013 and Fox.  
  
Archive: Anywhere at all just please keep   
names and e-mail attached, but no flames   
please!  
  
Summary: A university reunion takes an   
unexpected twist  
  
Feedback: Pleeeeeease.  
  
Author's Notes: Ok, this was written last   
year so is post season 8, rather than post   
season 9, and is set in the future where   
Mulder, Scully and William are a family.  
  
Oxford Reunion  
  
Starbuck_Jayne and Chessity  
  
The elevator drew to a shuddering halt on   
the floor of the J. Edgar Hoover building.   
Fox Mulder tapped his foot impatiently as he   
waited for the doors to open, but as they   
did he was not impressed to discover that   
inside were three other agents, including   
one James Hartinger - not exactly one of   
Mulder's best friends. He sucked in his   
breath through a forced smile as he was   
greeted with:  
"Hey! Spooky Mulder! Long time no see, how's   
it going down in the basement? Ohhhhhh   
that's right! You don't work there anymore!"  
Mulder chose to ignore the agent's comments   
and instead selected the button on the   
elevator's control that would take him down   
to the building's lowest level. To his great   
relief his three co-workers disembarked on   
the first floor and he continued the trip   
alone.  
The agent knocked lightly on the door of his   
old office, but entered before receiving an   
invitation. He found Agent Doggett and   
Scully to be behind their separate desks,   
and seemingly engrossed in their work as   
there was no conversation. The office,   
although no longer his, was strangely   
comforting. He and Scully had experienced   
many of life's ups and downs in that very   
room, and the memories were still there.   
His former partner looked up from the   
computer screen and he saw the panic in her   
face when she saw him standing there.   
Doggett suddenly looked uncomfortable and   
checked his watch, mumbling something about   
a coffee break. Mulder smiled as the agent   
left the room, and looked at Scully, "Isn't   
that a nice effect to have on people?" he   
laughed. Scully seemed to lighten up a   
little as she realised that Mulder obviously   
wasn't here with bad news.   
  
"What's up, Mulder, is it William?" She   
rose from her chair and the panic face   
returned for a moment.  
  
"Relax, Scully, everything is fine," he   
moved towards her and placed a gentle kiss   
upon her lips. She smiled.  
  
"Don't you have work to do?" She knew he   
was bored back in violent crimes, but he was   
lucky to even have a job with the FBI at   
all; he really shouldn't abuse his duties in   
this way.  
  
"Define work," Mulder grinned. "No,   
seriously, Scully, can't a guy come down to   
visit his wife without getting the third   
degree?"   
  
"Mulder, we have been here ten minutes."   
The problem with the FBI was that marital   
partnerships were not exactly encouraged,   
and so after Kersh had left the bureau,   
following a nervous breakdown, and Skinner   
had given Mulder his job back, he had still   
been advised to take a job outside of the X-  
Files division.   
  
"This arrived this morning," Mulder tossed a   
slim envelope onto Scully's desk, which she   
regarded suspiciously.  
  
"What is it?" She asked, "this better not   
be an X-File that you want to pursue   
Mulder."  
  
He laughed at her, thinking how well she   
knew him. But this time, however, she was   
wrong. He watched as she turned the   
envelope over in her hand, and came across   
the British postal stamp.  
  
"Oxford University, Mulder?"   
  
"Yeah, a reunion actually. I was thinking   
we could leave William with your Mom and   
take a few days off," he asked tentatively,   
fairly sure she would be unwilling to leave   
their son alone for anything longer than a   
few hours. He was, of course, right.   
  
"Mulder, we hardly get to see Will enough as   
it is, what with both of us working. If you   
think we're gonna ditch him in our vacation   
time as well..."   
  
Mulder cut her off, "Ok, ok, we can take him   
with us! Just make sure it isn't me who has   
to keep a three year old child entertained   
during a nine hour flight to Europe."  
  
XXXXXXX  
  
The plane to London was more than crowded.   
The previous flight had been delayed, and   
many of the passengers had decided that   
catching the next flight out was less hassle   
than waiting the five hours remaining for   
their own. As a result, the airline had   
insisted that Mulder hold William on his   
knee, rather than giving the toddler his own   
seat. William was delighted for the first   
few minutes, because he had a better view   
out of the window, as well as of the TV   
screen at the front of the plane. When he   
realised, however, that outside there were   
only clouds and the movie on TV was not too   
interesting for a three year old, he began   
to look for alternative entertainment. With   
childish fingers he tried to grasp the glass   
of orange juice resting on his mother's   
table.   
  
"You thirsty, sweetie?" Scully helped her   
son to hold the glass as he squirmed in   
Mulder's lap.   
  
"Scully, would you just let him hold the   
juice?" Mulder grumbled from beneath his   
son. His wife reluctantly obliged, and let   
go of the glass. In one swift movement,   
William had grabbed hold of it, swivelled   
round on his dad's knee and eagerly began   
pouring the glass' contents over the   
horrified woman in the white trouser suit to   
his left. A satisfied grin spread across   
William's face whilst Mulder hid his own   
smirks behind his son's back. Scully, on   
the other hand, was forced completely from   
the light sleep she was trying to accomplish   
by the woman's shrieks, as the juice began   
to soak into her trousers in a very   
conspicuous place.   
  
"Jesus, Mulder!"  
  
"Do you think this is funny?" The woman was   
screaming at Mulder, who looked as if he was   
about to say, yes, he did think it was   
funny.  
  
"Can you not even look after him for a few   
minutes without him getting into trouble?"  
  
"What kind of irresponsible parent are you?"   
The woman and Scully appeared to have sided   
in the battle against Mulder.   
  
He looked from the woman to his left back to   
Scully who was certainly not enjoying having   
her skills as a mother questioned. She   
lifted William onto her own lap and shot her   
husband a glance that assured him that the   
next few hours were not going to be   
pleasant; not after the mortification she   
had endured and seemingly now blamed him   
for.  
  
XXXXXXX   
  
The plane touched down in London just as the   
sun was setting. William began to fuss as   
Scully awoke him and tried to get him to   
stand up and walk. He would not move from   
her lap, and Mulder picked him up and made   
as if to carry him. Scully stopped him.  
  
"How do you expect him to become independent   
if you're always giving him his own way?   
You're going to spoil him!"  
  
"Oh yeah, *me* spoil him!" Mulder snapped   
back. "I notice you made no attempt to   
scold him after the little fiasco on the   
plane!"  
  
"That's because it was your fault!"  
  
"Like hell it was my fault!"  
  
"Mulder, people are staring," Scully hissed   
before turning to her son. "Come on,   
William, sweetie, let's go find a cab shall   
we?"  
  
Once at the hotel in Oxford, Mulder listened   
in shock as his wife calmly requested two   
rooms instead of one.  
  
"Scully, what are you doing?" His question   
was answered simply by one of her looks, at   
which he snatched a very confused William   
away from her and led him towards the   
elevator, dragging his suitcase behind him.   
He remained disturbed by Scully's sudden   
outburst on the plane, and the fact that her   
annoyance with him had lasted for so long.   
He was smart enough to know, however, that   
the look she had given him was a warning not   
to bring up the subject until they were   
alone. He sighed as he set the suitcase   
down outside the room he intended to share   
now with William only. This was supposed to   
be a chance for them to spend time together   
as a family, and already things had started   
to go wrong. All over some stupid stunt   
William had pulled, innocently enough? It   
was so unlike Scully to lose her head over   
something this trivial. No, this definitely   
went deeper than a glass of spilt juice, and   
Mulder had every intention of finding out   
what it was.  
  
XXXXXXX  
  
The reunion was due to start in half an   
hour, and Mulder tried desperately to find   
his bow tie without having to ask Scully   
where it was. As if the fact he had to be   
out of the hotel in thirty minutes and still   
wasn't dressed wasn't enough, throughout his   
frantic search, he was also fielding   
questions from William that consisted only   
of his new favourite word: "why".  
  
"William, can you see Daddy's tie?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I want to wear it."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I have to look nice in front of all   
the people at the big party."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It's called making an impression, son, I'll   
explain it when you're older."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Would you please stop that?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
Mulder stood up straight and sucked in his   
breath, all in an attempt to control his   
temper. He gave his son a look that was   
universally understood to mean, "Stop it now   
or else".  
  
"Daddy?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Can we go and see Mommy now?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why?"  
  
XXXXXXX  
  
Mulder knocked hesitantly on the door of his   
wife's room, hoping she had calmed down   
enough for a rational conversation. He   
prayed that when she opened the door he   
would find her ready to leave, and not   
having decided instead that she didn't want   
to go. He was half right. She stood in the   
doorway dressed in a black silk evening   
gown. It reached her ankles and so revealed   
her beautiful strappy sandals. The outfit   
was stunning, but on her face she wore a   
dark expression that Mulder was unable to   
place. He thought that maybe she was also   
confused by her anger, but was going to keep   
up the charade of being annoyed with him   
anyway. He groaned and pushed past her.   
  
"You ready?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Where's William?"  
  
"Babysitter."  
  
"Good. She's probably a more competent   
parent." He just chose to let that one   
slide.   
  
"Scully, what's wrong with us?"  
  
"There's nothing wrong with us, Mulder."  
  
"Ok, so what's wrong with you?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Oh! I get it! This is all my fault! Of   
course! How could I have been so stupid as   
to not realise that?"  
  
"Can we just go and get this over with?"  
  
"Oh so you don't want to go?"  
  
"Did I say that?"  
  
"You implied it, yes."  
  
"Mulder, I am not one of your criminals to   
be profiled."  
  
"And so what's with all the separate room   
crap anyway?"  
  
"I just need to think about this."  
  
"About what? Scully why can't we sort   
things out together anymore? This is   
insane!"  
  
"Oh! So you're calling my feelings insane?"  
  
"What feelings? Why have we suddenly   
regressed back to this "I'm fine" routine?   
Scully, we are supposed to be married."  
  
"Let's just go, Mulder," she swished past   
him, a black whirlwind of anger and   
confusion.   
  
"Dammit Scully, I love you!"  
  
Scully paused to check her watch, "Mulder,   
we're late."  
XXXXXXX  
  
"Spooky? Spooky Mulder?" A large man   
dressed in a white tux said with a raucous   
laugh, causing Mulder to cringe through a   
fake smile. The man grabbed hold of   
Mulder's arm and gestured to a nearby group   
of people, in doing so splashing red wine   
all over Mulder's shirt. "Hey! Everyone!   
Look who's here!" He turned back to the two   
FBI agents "hey Spooky, this the missus?"  
  
"This is my wife, yes." Mulder introduced   
Scully, who seemed sadistically amused by   
the mess her husband had already managed to   
make of his shirt.   
  
"Scully, this is Rob Burke...my old room   
mate."  
  
"Scully?" Rob looked at Mulder as if he was   
crazy. "Is that, like, a pet name or what?"  
  
"No, it's just..." Mulder stopped mid-  
sentence as he realised Rob had lost   
interest and staggered off in another   
direction. He turned round to face Scully   
and realised that she too had disappeared.   
Just about to leave in search of alcohol,   
Mulder instead became aware of an   
unpleasantly familiar presence. "This   
evening just gets better and better," he   
mumbled as he turned around to face Phoebe   
Green.  
  
"Well, well, what do we have here?" She   
smiled thinly.  
  
"A very stressed out guy looking for his   
wife", was what Mulder wanted to say, but   
instead he greeted the detective with a cool   
"Phoebe".  
  
"Well, I didn't expect to see *you* here.   
But since you're alone, how about a drink?"  
  
Mulder desperately didn't want to spend   
another second with his ex-lover,   
  
"Well, actually I was just..." But somehow a   
dark side of him saw this as the perfect   
opportunity to get back at his estranged   
wife. "You know what, ok." He agreed,   
putting on a wide, artificial grin. "We   
haven't seen each other in ages. Any major   
changes in your life I should know about?"   
With these words he grabbed Phoebe's arm and   
dragged her to the bar on the other side of   
the ballroom.  
  
Thirty minutes and four rounds later, Mulder   
was feeling kind of the worse for wear.  
  
"Hey, Mulder, isn't that your partner?"   
Phoebe was decidedly more composed than her   
drinking companion. She pointed to a far   
corner of the room where Scully was   
listening intently to a tall man with a   
crisp business suit and rugged good looks.   
Mulder looked up from his folded arms and   
his face dropped.  
  
"Yes, yes it is," he slurred only slightly   
before heaving himself off his stool and   
onto unsteady legs.  
  
"Woah!" Phoebe caught his arm as he   
stumbled over her purse. "But I thought you   
were here alone!" She blurted out,   
tightening the grip on Mulder's arm.   
  
"Well, no I'm not," Mulder told her without   
looking at her, shaking her hand off he made   
his way through dancing and chatting people   
without taking his eyes off his, obviously   
very preoccupied, wife. Mulder frowned when   
he suddenly caught sight of that pseudo   
gentleman taking her hand without Scully   
complaining at all. Mulder was so engrossed   
in watching the scenario, especially   
Scully's gleaming face, that he didn't   
notice the lights being dimmed and a   
spotlight being switched on. The dance   
floor suddenly cleared of people, and Mulder   
realised he was alone in the middle of the   
beam of light with everyone's eyes on him.  
  
"Aww crap."   
  
"And last, but definitely not least, Fox   
Mulder! Seeing as you are so eager to take   
the stage, why don't you come on up and tell   
us a bit about yourself?" The evening's   
host was asking.   
"Erm, you know what? I'd just rather find   
my wife first."  
  
"She isn't going anywhere, Spooky, come on   
up."   
  
It wasn't as if he had a choice or anything,   
two burly young men escorted the bemused FBI   
agent onto the stage.  
  
"Am I under arrest or something here?" He   
wanted to know.  
  
"Now, here we have five of our most   
promising graduates at the time. What have   
you been up to since you left Oxford?"  
  
A small mousy woman stepped forwards and   
announced she had since been promoted to   
production manager at "British Biscuits".   
Mulder managed to sit through peoples'   
confessions of being tax inspectors,   
married, and tree surgeons before deciding   
he couldn't take anymore and lunging towards   
the steps at the side of the stage. His   
attempted escape was brought to a swift end   
as he felt to strong arms on his shoulders.   
  
"So Spooky, still after those little green   
men?"  
  
Mulder looked longingly towards the open   
door, and decided to get the speech over as   
quickly as possible. In a slightly dazed,   
but nevertheless hurried, tone he proceeded   
to enlighten the audience, telling them of   
his career in the FBI and marriage to his   
ex-partner; deliberately avoiding entering a   
discussion on the X-Files.   
  
"Way to go, Spooky! Finally settled down!"  
  
"Yeah, about that, can I just say..."  
  
"Hey, everybody, let's have a big hand for   
Spooky!"  
  
Mulder's intoxicated attempt to ask for his   
wife's forgiveness was lost in a clamour of   
applause. However, Scully seemed to have   
understood and began making her way towards   
the stage. At the same time Mulder caught a   
sudden movement out of the corner of his   
eye. It was a matter of seconds before the   
realisation struck him, and he sobered up   
almost instantly. His hand moved   
automatically to the gun he kept in a   
holster around his ankle, and he pointed the   
weapon with excellent aim towards Phoebe   
Green.   
  
"I've waited for you for twenty years, Fox   
Mulder! I'm not gonna let you just walk away   
again! When I came to America all those   
years ago and I found you with her," At this   
point Phoebe swung her arm around Scully's   
neck and gestured towards her with a gun   
that hung loosely between her fingers. "How   
do you think that made me feel? You just   
don't get it, do you!? You were the only   
man that ever loved me."  
  
Mulder was tempted to say that the only   
woman he had ever loved was Dana Scully, but   
decided that it would not be wise to   
antagonise the, seemingly insane, woman who   
was more or less holding his wife hostage.   
  
"Put the gun down, Phoebe!"  
  
"What is it? Is it the red hair? Do you want   
me to dye my hair? If I kill her you'll have   
to love me!" She raised the gun to Scully's   
head, but before she had chance to pull the   
trigger, the bullet from Mulder's own gun   
tore through her shoulder, causing her to   
drop the weapon. As she fell to the floor   
she dragged Scully with her and they hit the   
ground together.   
Mulder leapt from the stage and through the   
stunned crowds, to where Scully was lying on   
the floor, crying, and covered in Phoebe's   
blood. Mulder was shocked by his wife's   
tears, not understanding why she would be so   
upset by all of this.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
"Mulder, I need to go to the hospital."  
  
"Why? You'll be okay! She didn't shoot you,   
did she?" He wiped some of the blood away   
from her cheek.   
  
"No, I'm worried about the baby."  
  
The End 


End file.
